


Nina Cried Power

by hpg



Series: Wasteland, Baby! [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Basically she doesn't marry Ron, But not a Ron bash, Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Canon Divergence - Post-Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, F/M, Getting Together, I made up a random Minister for Magic and we don't like him, Post-Hogwarts, Protests, Summer, The title isn't relevant but it's the name of the song, based on a hozier song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hpg/pseuds/hpg
Summary: Hermione is a ringleader in a protest for muggleborn rights when anarchy erupts. In the choas she runs into someone from her past...Alternative title: Flower Crown Encounters
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Wasteland, Baby! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690561
Kudos: 14





	Nina Cried Power

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first fic ever on ao3 (exciting times!) so please let me know what you think! It's just a quick one-shot based loosely on Hozier's Nina Cried Power with extra inspiration from [this tumblr post's](https://rosepetalphilosophy.tumblr.com/post/183200293595/types-of-people-wasteland-baby-nina-cried) aesthetic take on the album. Hopefully I will be writing a whole series of (unrelated) Dramione oneshots based on every song in Wasteland, Baby!  
> Any mistakes are my own. Hope you enjoy!

She marched because this was beyond ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous to the point where it became scary. She marched because she would not be forced into war again over something so disgustingly trivial as blood.

This was the case for the lot of the them, she knew. Looking around her she could find dozens of faces that had run into battle and been unafraid. They had made a difference once and were determined to do so again.

Blazing down on the hardened faces was the afternoon sun, fully up above the rooftops of Diagon Alley, casting them in an amber glow. But the heat and dust were little compared to hardships they had weathered before.

“This is not the way! Muggleborns are here to stay!”

Hermione commenced the song again, voice enveloped in the hearty bellowing of the others. Beside her, Dean and Seamus were shaking their signs, faces screwed up not against the sun but in anger. Blood is blood, they read, which would then swirl away while the words prejudice is prejudice would scrawl themselves in their place.

It would feel slightly more natural to have Harry and Ron standing beside her, but they were at either end of the large gathering. There was every reason to expect some trouble from minister Randall, so the three of them had deliberately split up. However, Hermione’s anxiety was reducing. They had been stood beside the imposing Gringotts for nearly three hours, the crowd growing constantly. Of course the old Order members had shown up en masse along with their school friends, but people Hermione barely recognised made up just as much of the group.

Another pop of apparition turned no heads. It must have been the hundredth they had heard that day.

A smattering more did draw attention.

The chanting faded around her. Turning her head, Hermione found a group of dark clad figures encircling the crowd. Aurors.

Pushing her chin up, she continued the chant, willing others to join it again. They had been over this. No retaliation. Their protest was perfectly lawful, and they would not be painted as the bad guys.

The distinctive sound of the air being sliced in two with a whoosh reached her ears, finally killing off all singing. Stepping forwards, she saw a bolt of red some way to the left of her. One of the aurors had fired it, but now a bluish flash announced the intervention of Neville Longbottom. All he had done was to cast a shield between the stunner and its would-be victim, but Hermione’s heart stopped. They had just given them what they wanted.

It felt as if the breath entering her lungs was the only sound as she stood with her mouth open, hand moving silently to her wand.  
And then the world exploded.

Neon shot through the air towards Neville, only to be met with just as much light, clashing in mid-air as more protestors jumped to defend themselves. A flurry of black charged forwards, piling into the midst of the now scattering group, shouts erupting. Signs were falling to the floor and brown dust rising from the ground like fiendfyre among running bodies that jostled Hermione as she tried to force her way through.

Pushing hair out of her face, she ran forwards still, seeing that Ron and Harry already had their wands out and were facing off against multiple figures. She raised her wand too, firing directly at one of them, when arms grabbed her from behind. Too quick, she wrestled herself from their grasp, turning around to stun the man straight in the face.< /p>

But there were more.

It looked like the whole fleet was out. The dust cloud was even more encompassing now, but Hermione could see where it was illuminated by sparks as if flares were flying, black figures everywhere darting in and out of the light like shadow puppets. Her protest had dissolved almost instantly, only dregs left as they fled from the overwhelming numbers.

Looking down at the heap of black at her feet, Hermione staggered backwards, shrinking to the edge of the street.

“Get Granger!”

Spinning towards the shout, Hermione saw two more aurors approaching. Knocking one down hurriedly, she began to back away but the other had fired back already, making her duck as it scorched the air past her head and collided with brick behind her. She was no stranger to a fight, however, and was immediately shooting straight back. It was clear he didn’t want her to get away.

Behind him, the silhouettes were tussling.

“No!” she cried out as she saw Harry dropping to the floor, his prone body overwhelmed in a split second by the aurors before disappearing. Ron was already gone.

At the last moment she threw up a shield, spell blasting off the other side of it. This was more than they had expected for sure, she thought as the auror advanced. She may be an advanced dueller but she was not trained as this man was. Continuing her retreat, she tripped over the man she had already stunned, giving her opponent an opening-

A needle of light pierced the air once again, sending the black clad man’s wand clattering away.

Hermione’s eyes darted to where the spell had been cast from and saw a figure through the clearing dust, standing across the street. Not about to hang around any longer, she leapt to her feet, promptly fired a stunner at the auror and ran.

“There!”

“Is that her?”

“Come back here, Granger!”

A couple more protesters disappeared into the alley ahead of her, and she was hot on their heels as she flew across the main street, hair now wild behind her. Feet pounding on the stone beneath her, she saw side passages zoom past from the corner of her eye, a handful of protesters huddled in each. When she chanced a look behind her, she saw just as many aurors following, free now from the practically empty epicentre of the protest.

Ahead of her, a girl broke away, racing into an adjoining street, while another disappeared with a crack. Only one was left. The man who had helped her out of her earlier fight. Panting, she squinted at the back of his head, taking in his blond hair when-

Poof.

Darkness.

Hermione’s feet struggled to stop beneath her and she gasped in air as her body ceased in its sprint, doubling over and ploughing straight into whoever it was. She opened her mouth to say something to the man, but her breath was not yet under control and instead she found herself swept up by an arm, pulling her to the right by her waist and tugging her down.

Obligingly, she crouched, reaching out an arm and finding a wall. Realising they were hiding, she resolved to stay silent until the present danger had passed.

As she blinked in the sudden blackness, it began to dissipate. The gold, burning light from the sky filtered in, but they were in the shadow of one of wizarding London’s tall, crooked terraces.

“Down here,” her accomplice muttered.

He ushered her down some stairs now it was becoming light enough to see them, and they reached an area lowered from the street, outside what was presumably the basement of this house. She supposed she should be thankful for their somewhat dank spot; at least she wouldn’t be getting sunburn while they waited this out. Instinctively, she pressed herself against the wall to hide herself if the aurors were to glance down.

Hermione had barely got her breathing under control by the time the darkness had gone completely.

“Peruvian instant darkness powder?” she asked, chest still heaving.

When the man’s panting did not stop beside her to answer, she finally turned her head from where she had been staring at the opposite wall.

Her breath hitched, making her cough once as she stared in disbelief. The man nodding to her was-

“Malfoy?” she breathed.

“Granger.” He grinned, though still panting. At her silence, he tried again. “Long time no see.”

“Quite,” she agreed, turning to stare ahead again, eyes still wide. “What… what brings you here?”

Despite his breathless state, he managed a laugh.

“What do you think? Same as you.”

“You were at the protest?”

“Why else would I be running from the aurors Granger? I bloody work for them!”

She glanced at him sidelong.

“You’re not going to turn me in, are you?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Yes, and that’s why I’m hiding down here with you right now… plus you’d probably punch me in the face again.”

Despite herself, Hermione felt a smile take over her mouth.

“Now, now, we’re not thirteen anymore.”

“You’re right, you’d just straight up hex me.”

“Hey!” she exclaimed, turning back to face him fully, frizzy hair flying around her.

But the next moment, she clapped her mouth shut, freezing as a voice came from above. The aurors were still searching.

Both her and Draco pressed themselves further into the wall, if that was possible. She realised she was staring at him, but dared not move despite the blush blooming on her cheeks. Footsteps passed directly above them. Hermione swore her heart was just as loud as they paused and paced back again…

A crash from an opposing alley jolted her whole body, hand coming to cover her mouth.

But the feet were running away now, and Hermione felt herself deflate like a balloon.

She could not have said how long it was that they sat there, side by side below a London street, both too terrified to make a noise. At the very least, the aurors were loud themselves. They could hear their shouts as they searched. Eventually, the majority seemed to have passed them by, the voices carrying from further away. By this time, Hermione’s mind was a whirlpool of questions for the man beside her.

“Do you think you’ll get fired?” she whispered.

For a moment she thought he was not going to answer her as the question hung alone in the air.

“Probably,” he murmured, “if they can arrest golden boy Harry Potter, then a lower ranked auror like me doesn’t stand a chance.”

“I knew he was worried about that,” Hermione chewed on her lip for a moment before carrying on, “but we never thought this would happen when we arranged the protest… it’s like they were targeting us.”

“They are,” Draco replied dryly.

“So why did you come?”

He huffed a little beside her, shifting his shoulders so he was facing her.

“Do you really think so little of me Granger? The war happened ten years ago.”

He ran a hand through his hair, turning away while Hermione gaped like a goldfish.

“No, I didn’t- that’s not what I meant at all!” she protested, “but your job-“

“I didn’t sever ties with my estate for a laugh Granger. Once I got back into Hogwarts, and then work, I changed. And I told my mother that until she could renounce the old ways fully, I would not take part in the proceedings of our family. I was serious. And now our bloody minister starts to fancy himself as the Dark Lord take two after only half a bloody year in office…”

He trailed off, glancing back to the floor.

Hermione watched intently as his tongue darted out to wet his lips, a sigh escaping them soon after.

“That’s… that’s great to hear, Draco,” she told him earnestly.

At that, his head snapped back up, eyes meeting her gaze. Draco, she realised… she supposed he had finally earned her use of his first name.

“Thank you for coming,” she started again, tearing her eyes from his to stare stubbornly ahead, “and thank you for…”

She gestured to the street above them where the aurors were likely prowling.

He chuckled.

“If only my dear father could see me now.”

Hermione ordered away the irresistible pull of a smile at her lips. Lucius Malfoy was nothing to be laughed at – she knew that first hand. Once again, the two lapsed into silence, listening warily to the action above them.

Feeling self-conscious, Hermione realised her attire was probably a little lacking after their small adventure. She pulled up a vest sleeve that had flopped to her shoulder and tugged a flower crown from her curls. Luna had made several for the protest, enchanting them so the flowers bloomed in the sun. Her fingers twirled around a bud as she lay it down in the dust at her feet.

“I never apologised, did I?”

Tilting her head, Hermione frowned at the blond beside her.

“For school,” he stated.

“I think this is apology enough,” she smiled.

A breath slipped from his lips. He didn’t miss her gaze dropping to watch them. She swallowed.

“Will you take this as well?” he whispered, leaning closer.

Her eyes fluttered closed, and though the kiss was short it was blissful. For a moment she was not hiding in a dark corner, but lying in a meadow full of wildflowers-

“Anyone here?”

Instantly, they were both tense again. But that voice had not sounded the same as the others. It was… softer. Hermione turned her head towards it, finally raising herself from the ground.

“What are you thinking?” Draco hissed, lunging forward to grasp her wrist.

“Hermione?”

“Ginny!” Hermione grinned at the sight of her friend before giving Draco a pointed glare behind her back. Sheepishly, he jerked his hand from hers and stood too.

“We were thinking of going back to Gringotts,” Ginny explained, eyeing the Slytherin behind Hermione, but not commenting. “We think the press have started to arrive.”

~

WAR ENEMIES UNITED AGAINST PREJUDICE

The newspaper fell to the table, black delivery owl flying over to where it knew Hermione’s treats were stored.

“Didn’t take them long, did it?” Draco commented, lifting it off the counter to unfold it properly.

“What does it say?” Hermione asked from the treat corner, “-hey!”

Hurriedly closing the lid before the owl could steal any more, she returned to her steaming mug of tea across from Draco. Finished scanning it himself, he held it up for her to see.

In a large box on the front page, their faces shouted from beneath a sign. Though surrounded by a large crowd, they had been placed at the centre of the image, ex-Death Eater beside war heroine, her dark curls beside his light locks, where a certain flower crown sat blooming red flowers.

“It suits you,” she smirked, prompting him to slap it face-down onto the table.

Once her laughter had died down, Hermione still hid a conspirational smirk behind her mug as Draco continued reading.

“At least Randall knows he’s going too far,” she offered, “arresting Harry Potter and all- he won’t get away with that.”

“Wait-“ Draco paused, flipping through a few pages urgently, “wait! The wizengamot have taken action! At last!”

“Let me see!” Hermione cried, standing up to reach across the table. Alas, Draco simply stood up too, teasing the paper just out of her reach as he continued to read. She raced around her table to jump at it, but he laughed and stepped back.

At last, she managed to jab him in the side, making him double over, almost crying with laughter now. Only this time, he tossed the paper behind him and stood up, taking her hands.

“Draco! Let me see-“

“They’re reviewing his ministerial title.”

Her mouth hung open.

“Time to see about running for minister yourself?” he smirked.

A smile grew on her face, and then she jumped at him again, throwing her arms around his neck and bringing her lips crashing into his.


End file.
